Pampered in Kuşadası

We arrived in Kuşadası today.  This is a beach resort town on Turkey’s western Aegean coast.  Efes (or the more familiar Ephesus) is nearby and we will visit that tomorrow.  This is a major cruise ship destination so it’s quite a different vibe than the small town we have been in the last couple of days.  Our hotel, the Charisma, sits right on the water of the Aegean Sea and our room is floor-to-ceiling glass on an entire wall and overlooks the sea.  Quite a posh place as evidenced by the view from the room, the sumptuous dinner overlooking the Aegean sunset, and the large pools right at the water’s edge.  Interestingly, the pool was completely empty and there were a bunch of young adults jumping off the deck into the Aegean.

We will be here for the next three days.  We may never leave.

We started the day with a 1.5-hour bus ride to probably the best preserved stadium in the world.  Located in Aphrodisias along with many other ancient artifacts, it seated 30,000 people and was built such that there was no such thing as a bad seat.

Aphrodesias was devoted to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, reflecting the moral and spiritual climate of the Greco-Roman world the apostle Paul ministered in.  Although not one of the locations of the churches in Revelation, it is a good example of the world around the time of the New Testament.  And it has a lot of cool ruins dedicated to dead people.  Lots of examples of sarcophagi lining the paths.  In fact there is so much shaped marble here that, for centuries, farmers and peasants have used pieces to make fences and line roads.

Marble is everywhere here.  It is one of Turkey’s most important natural resources and a major part of its economy.  In a conversation a few days ago about marble, our Turkish guide commented wryly, “I’d rather have oil.”

Another two-hours on the bus brought us to Nakkas, a business that makes Oriental rugs and textiles.  There we saw a demonstration of how silk was made, and how these authentic Turkish rugs were made.  Interesting demonstration and very well done.  Some of these rugs can take many months to make, with a larger example taking three people 18 months to make one rug.  They do training in rug weaving and their double-knot method is different than many other rug-making methods and a lot more durable.  We were then ushered into a room where we all sat around the perimeter and they rolled out various rugs, telling us about the different materials and fiber sizes and their effect on the final product.  When this was all done, the floor of this room had a pile of rugs several deep.

They served us little glasses of lemonade when we arrived and more Turkish drinks as we watched them roll out rug after rug on the floor.  The lemonade and the hot apple tea I had was amazing.

And, yes, they sell rugs and a few in our group purchased a rug.  Including us.  We got a smaller silk rug depicting the tree of life mentioned in the Bible (particularly in Revelation). This will be a wall-hanging for our home.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse...​ Revelation 22:1-3

What a great reminder of something to look forward to. The tree of life...

After arriving at the hotel and finishing dinner, we took a walk downtown.  Lots of  people milling about and all the stores were still open as it got dark.  We strolled through the downtown area and bought a few small things.

One thing I have noticed is that there is an abundance of cats here.  Cats are everywhere.  Deb was spooked out a couple days ago having lunch and suddenly a cat was trying to hop on her lap.  Today in the hotel restaurant, there were at least two cats roaming in and among the seated people.  And this is at a high-end restaurant. It seems that everywhere you look, there’s probably a cat or two visible.  Lots of dogs ambling about or sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk, but nothing like the number of cats.  Apparently, many cities here actively support street cats with vaccinations, spay/neuter, and microchipping them and they have become part of a national and urban identity.  Most of them are quite tame.